Method, system and apparatus for data capture illumination control

1. A method in a navigational controller, the method comprising:

obtaining image data and depth data from corresponding sensors of a mobile automation apparatus;

detecting an obstacle from the depth data and classifying the obstacle as one of a human obstacle and a non-human obstacle;

in response to the classifying of the obstacle as the human obstacle, selecting a portion of the image data that corresponds to the human obstacle;

detecting, from the selected portion of image data, a face of the human obstacle;

based on a detected position of the face of the human obstacle in the selected portion of the image data, selecting an illumination control action for the mobile automation apparatus; and

controlling an illumination subsystem of the mobile automation apparatus according to the selected illumination control action,

wherein:

detecting the face includes generating a confidence level associated with the detected position of the face, and

selecting the illumination control action includes updating, based on the confidence level, a set of feature probabilities corresponding to a height range of the illumination subsystem.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the illumination control action includes decreasing an illumination intensity of at least one of a plurality of illumination assemblies of the illumination subsystem.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the illumination control action includes disabling the at least one illumination assembly.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the illumination control action includes:

determining, for each of a plurality of subsets of the feature probabilities, whether a combined feature probability exceeds a threshold; and

when the combined feature probability exceeds the threshold, decreasing an illumination intensity.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

generating the combined feature probability from the feature probabilities in each of the plurality of subsets.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein generating the combined feature probability includes applying a weighting function to the probabilities of the subset.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein controlling the illumination subsystem includes:

identifying at least one of a plurality of illumination assemblies corresponding to the detected position of the face; and

applying the illumination control action to the at least one identified illumination assembly.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein identifying the at least one of the plurality of illumination assemblies includes identifying illumination assemblies that correspond to a height of the detected position of the face.

9. A mobile automation apparatus, comprising:

an image sensor;

a depth sensor;

a chassis supporting an illumination subsystem configured to emit light;

a navigational controller connected to the image sensor, the depth sensor, and the illumination subsystem, the navigational controller configured to:

obtain image data and depth data from the image sensor and the depth sensor;

detect an obstacle from the depth data and classify the obstacle as one of a human obstacle and a non-human obstacle;

in response to classification of the obstacle as the human obstacle, select a portion of the image data that corresponds to the human obstacle;

detect, from the selected portion of the image data, a face of the human obstacle;

based on a detected position of the face of the human obstacle in the selected portion of the image data, select an illumination control action for the mobile automation apparatus; and

control the illumination subsystem according to the selected illumination control action,

wherein the navigational controller is further configured to:

detect the face by generating a confidence level associated with the detected position of the face, and

select the illumination control action by updating, based on the confidence level, a set of feature probabilities corresponding to a height range of the illumination subsystem.

10. The mobile automation apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the illumination control action includes a decrease to an illumination intensity of at least one of a plurality of illumination assemblies of the illumination subsystem.

11. The mobile automation apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the illumination control action includes disabling of the at least one illumination assembly.

12. The mobile automation apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the navigational controller is configured, in order to select the illumination control action, to:

determine, for each of a plurality of subsets of the feature probabilities, whether a combined feature probability exceeds a threshold; and

when the combined feature probability exceeds the threshold, decrease an illumination intensity.

13. The mobile automation apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the navigational controller is configured to generate the combined feature probability from the feature probabilities of the subset.

14. The mobile automation apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the navigational controller is configured, in order to generate the combined feature probability, to apply a weighting function to the probabilities of the subset.

15. The mobile automation apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the navigational controller is configured, in order to control the illumination subsystem, to:

identify at least one of a plurality of illumination assemblies corresponding to the detected position of the face; and

apply the illumination control action to the identified at least one illumination assembly.

16. The mobile automation apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the navigational controller is configured, in order to identify the at least one of the plurality of illumination assemblies, to identify illumination assemblies that correspond to a height of the detected position of the face.